My friends have all heard me say that I wish when kids were born 2 things happened.

The first of which is that I think every time a child is born a mother should grow an extra arm. This arm could come off when the child reaches a place of being more independent so around 5 or 6 years or so but, MAN, until then wouldn’t it be nice to just have that extra hand????

The second thing is a manual. It would be so nice to just get a new manual with each child telling you things about that child and what to do when each situation arises. This could even tell you stuff like: ” Your new baby is never going to sleep through the night. sorry.” or ” Your newest addition is going to be an avid reader in order to have enough books in the house. Start collecting now.” or ” Don’t bother with peas. Your new baby really does hate them and that will be a life long thing.”

Since unfortunately God does not agree and we get neither of those things I thought I would share some of the things I have learned since becoming a mommy 6 years ago.

Mommy arms are invincible

It doesn’t matter how many hours you’ve been holding your baby. It doesn’t matter how tired you are. Somehow, they always have it in them to dig deep and pick the baby up one more time if need be. Sometimes you may feel like you can’t do it. You will. And your arms won’t fall off. It’s amazing. I would pit any mom against any strongest man in the world contestant for endurance if their baby was the object being held. I would win.

Babies are born with personalities

I know that every soon to be mom hears ” Every baby is different” in about a million forms before baby comes. And, until you have your baby you won’t see how true that statement is. But, I have 3 kids. My first 2 are absolute opposites in pretty much EVERY area. When I got pregnant with my 3rd I couldn’t see her being different from both of them. But, she is. She is totally her own person with her own likes and dislikes and things tat make her happy or unhappy. and go figure, they are totally different things than either of my other 2. I’m not sure how there can be so many extremes of people but there are. My kiddos are proof. Parenting in my opinion is simply an exercise in helping your child to mold who they already are into someone who can use all the aspects of what they are born with for good.

Living on little sleep is totally possible

It’s simple. Most parents won’t have a choice. Some will do better with it than others. However, you will not literally die from missing sleep. Unless of course you fall asleep doing something that results in untimely demise. I suggest finding someone to watch baby for a couple of hours before that happens. If that isn’t possible- Your baby will not die if they cry for 20 minutes while you sleep. You might wish you could as you hear it though. It’s better to find some help. If you need ideas on that send me an email. 😉 I’ve had to be pretty extensive in my quest for a few moments of sleep since I have a 6-year-old who only sleeps all night about 5 times a week- still.

Sprinkles are your friend

It is amazing what kids will eat with sprinkles. A friend told me she puts on her son’s broccoli. I thought she was crazy. She wasn’t. Sprinkles are I have discovered a mom’s source of power. Kid Kryptonite . If it sparkles let them eat!

The monsters are real

To them, the monster under the bed is real.Try to remember at 2 am that as illogical as it may be a snuggle with your 2 or 3-year-old will not hurt anything and yet, it will make those monsters go away. Now logic would say if there is something in the room so scary it requires fear of that magnitude, you should probably just run. Good thing most kids aren’t super logical. If a snuggle doesn’t work…something usually does. I have been known to sing songs because lions that live on closet shelves HATE it when you sing at night, I have sprayed an empty spray bottle under a bed ( this one is a great reminder in finding lost things too by the way) because if you squirt a monster it melts and goes away, But most of all we pray. Because, in our house we ALL believe that the only way to really make the bad things go away, is to ask God to do it. Nothing is bigger than God. That’s not just mommy-logic, it’s truth.
What are the tings you have learned since becoming a parent? I would LOVE to hear your tips.:)